The Wonder of Tech: Ting is a different kind of cell-phone service

If you're looking to save money on your cell phone bill, check out Ting, a cellular-phone service provider that has an innovative attitude toward doing business.

Note: Don't miss the link at the bottom of this article where Philly.com readers can save $50 at the Ting website.

According to Noss, Ting brings "cleaner, fairer, more transparent pricing" to customers. If you have a family or a business and need multiple phones on one account, Ting can save you money. "We're seeing savings typically in the 40%-70% range," he said.

Noss explains the savings:

Each phone on the account costs $6 and month and the calls, text messages and data are pooled among phones on the account. The account is charged for the pooled calls, texts and data used according to tiers of service.

If you want to see how much you would save over your current cell phone plan, check out Ting's "Savings Calculator." If you're not sure how much you'll use your phone, check out Ting's "Usage Calculator."

The savings can be especially impressive for those who use their phone rarely or inconsistently. If you throw your phone in a drawer for a month, the cost would only be $6 (plus regulatory fees).

You can choose your plan based on how many minutes, texts and megabytes of data you use each month. Ting will adjust your plan down or up each month – based on your actual usage – and without penalties.

Ting has a "Plan Calculator" to help you choose the plan that best fits your use. Here's an example of a plan for three phones for people who don't call much, don't use much data, but text a lot (for example, my teenage daughters). The monthly cost for three phones is $32.

Heavy users who exceed the maximum amount of usage under the XXL plan are charged:

Noss contrasted Ting's 1/4-cent charge with the 25¢ that some major carriers charge per text message. That's 100 times what Ting charges. "We make money at a quarter cent. We make money on everything we sell."

Here's a video explaining how Ting pricing works:

Your bills will automatically adjust based on your actual use. If you use fewer minutes, texts or data then your plan's level, you can go down a level and Ting will automatically give you a credit on your next month's bill.

Noss gave the example of someone who signed up for the 500 minute a month plan but only used 100 minutes one month, "you'd get $6 credited to the next month's bill."

If you're tired of navigating through a phone tree that seems to have been designed by a basket weaver, check out Ting's customer service. The company has human operators that answer the phone and a "No Hold" policy so you won't be transferred around to different operators trying to get your question answered.

Ting trains their operators at a high tech level so they can answer all of your questions. Everything from helping to set up your phone to answer such questions as, "What's the best app for finding restaurants?"

There is no commitment with Ting. Sign up, quit, change plans, do what you want. You won't have to stick around for two years unless you want to.

You can use your device as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot for free. You get instant access to Wi-Fi anywhere your phone gets data coverage and you only pay for the data you use.

Ting uses the Sprint network so you can use Ting anywhere Sprint has coverage. Ting's website includes the Sprint Coverage Map so you can see if Ting has service where you need it.

If you need fast data speeds, you'll be happy to know that Ting is now selling phones that work on Sprint's 4G/LTE network.

Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2012, users will be able to bring a Sprint phone to Ting, with certain exceptions. No iPhones, BlackBerry phones, Push-to-Talk phones or phones currently under contract with Sprint will be allowed. Details can be found at Ting's website.

Ting offers U.S. plans but also can provide service in countries that have CDMA coverage, listed on Ting's website.

You can set up notifications if you want to be alerted when you exceed a certain level for each type of service. This feature can be especially useful if you're sharing a plan with your kids. You can be alerted if they're going a bit crazy with texting or using a lot of data watching videos on their phone.

It doesn't matter how many benefits Ting has for you if you can't get coverage where you need it. Consult the Sprint Coverage Map to see if Sprint covers your area.

Ting doesn't subsidize its phones with contracts so you'll have to pay close to full retail price for your phone, and Noss said he realizes that most people aren't used to paying full price for phones.

"The thing that people miss when they're getting that subsidy is that they're borrowing money," he said. "They're borrowing a small amount of money at what is impliedly a very high interest rate. Every single customer we have can borrow that money easily at a much lower interest rate simply by using their credit card."

If you must have an iPhone, you can't use Ting yet. Ting doesn't sell iPhones and won't let you bring a Sprint iPhone even when it launches BYOD, though they hope to get the iPhone at some point in the future.

Ting phones and service are not sold in stores. You have to visit ting.com to sign up for service and purchase a phone but Ting tries to make the process easy with unboxing videos for each phone it sells. As mentioned above, Ting offers free geek support through its trained operators.

Ting put me in touch with Elizabeth Nordeman, a database developer at The Hay Group in Philadelphia, who has been a Ting customer for about six months.

"Their customer service is amazing and their price is unbelievable. I can't believe they're on the same network as Sprint and I'm paying so much less," Nordeman said. She figures she is saving about $20 per month on her cell phone plan by using Ting.

Nordeman especially appreciates speaking with a live person when she calls Ting. "It's a very personal and cool experience. I feel like they actually care, which is unusual."

Nordeman was skeptical when she first heard about Ting and was worried that there had to be a catch but decided to take a risk to save money. "The thing that sold me was the fact that they're using Sprint's network," said Nordeman.

Her phone is consistent most months, except for one month when she received a credit on her bill. Her bill was reduced by $13 because she didn't use as much data as usual, so Ting charged her for its medium data plan instead of its large one.

"I had no idea I was using less data until I saw my bill … the next month." Nordeman likes that the credit appeared automatically. She also likes that her phone works as a Wi-Fi hotspot – at no cost to her. Most service providers charge an additional monthly fee.

Philly.com readers can save $50 off of the cost of Ting service or phones by clicking on this link: Philly Ting (not an affiliate link).

Carolyn Nicander Mohr is a Chester County resident and the creator of a website, the Wonder of Tech. Contact her at wonderoftech@gmail.com.